Injuries might have played spoilsport for him in the last couple of years, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar continues to be one of India’s top pacers in the white-ball formats of the game.
After a lengthy injury lay-off, Bhuvneshwar returned to action in the limited-overs series against England at home in March. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, he spearheaded the attack brilliantly to script India’s T20I and ODI series victories over a strong English side.
While Bhuvneshwar picked up 4 scalps in the five-match T20I series, he claimed 6 wickets from three ODIs, including the figures of 3/42 in the series decider.
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Speaking to his IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Bhuvneshwar, who is known for his swing bowling and accuracy in lengths, on Friday (May 28) said he didn’t realise the importance of adding pace to his bowling early on.
"To be honest, first couple of years I didn't realise pace is something that needs to be added. As I kept playing, I realised with swing I need to improve my pace because bowling in late 120kph or just 130kph, batsmen were adjusting to the swing. So, I wanted to increase the pace, but I didn't know how to do it. That was the general trend to train hard and spend time in the gym,” he stated.
"Fortunately, I was able to improve the pace and that really helped me in the later stages. So yes, when you have pace, not the express 140-plus, but bowling in the mid-130kph helps maintaining that swing and keep the batsman guessing," the 31-year-old added.
Earlier this month, the Indian selectors overlooked Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the upcoming England tour, where the Virat Kohli-led team will play the World Test Championship final versus New Zealand (June 18-22) and five-Test series against the hosts (August 4-September 14).
"There have been articles about me not wanting to play Test cricket. Just to clarify, I have always prepared myself for all three formats irrespective of the team selection and will continue to do the same. Suggestion - please don't write your assumptions based on "sources"!" he wrote on Twitter after the team selection.
Bhuvneshwar may have missed the bus for the England tour, but he is likely to be picked for the white-ball series against Sri Lanka in July.
